Senseless Serendipity
by Narika
Summary: Seto and Joey keep bumping into each other at the weirdest places, and they always argue and fight, but end up in a complicated relationship. Is it fate? Or just their bad luck?
1. Cocoa and Coffee

AN: Yesh! It's a great new story for you Seto/Joey fans! I dedicate this fanfic to Amandalynn & Amy—who are, in my opinion, the loveliest Seto/Joey fans out there!

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Senseless Serendipity  
_By Narika_

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Chapter One – Cocoa and Coffee

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Thunder cracked and lightning flashed late this very night. The rain poured and the wind howled with fury in the near-empty streets of Domino City. Dim lights could be seen from shop windows of the few that were still open, but few people were out buying things or just window-shopping at this hour. Most went home already, since work hours were over and it was a tiring day of traffic to drive through. If one looked closely enough, or maybe even squinted nearly enough, one could see a very dim bulb of light at the very top of the Kaiba Corp building. Who would be mad enough to be in that office on the top floor ignoring the thunder, lightning, rain, and wind? Why the one and only Kaiba who ran the company! Seto Kaiba, if clarification is needed. He's the only person in the entire world who would stay at the office late at night in order to set things straight just because some idiot forgot to type one extra zero. All of the company's graphs and charts were messed up due to this one tiny mistake. Of course, if a zero happened to be missing from what was supposed to be a million dollar check, you'd be unhappy as well. Now this particular idiot was fired faster than Seto typed, which was in fact very fast.

An incessant ringing was coming from his coat's pocket. He ignored it in hopes that it would stop. It still rang quite innocently, just waiting until someone would pick it up. So Seto picked up the phone and listened.

"Big brother, when are you coming home? It's already past midnight. It's not good to stay and work until the sun comes up! Plus, you haven't been getting enough sleep this whole week. You look like a zombie!" Mokuba said worriedly.

Sigh. "Mokuba, I did not need to hear that last comment and I'm fine. I just finished fixing everything and I'll be home soon. Anyways, you should be in bed."

"...I guess so. Bye, Seto." Click.

Kaiba shut his laptop. Finally noticing the thunder, lightning, rain, and wind just outside the window, he rummaged around for an umbrella. His office was relatively neat, but it seemed that his umbrella had gone missing. He stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor. The bell dinged all too happily when he reached it. Kaiba would have fumed but was currently worn out for the day...or night. He stepped out into the cracking thunder, flashing lightning, pouring rain, and howling wind. Unfortunately for Seto, he did not realize that his umbrella was hiding behind the potted plant by the door. How silly.

The fatigued Kaiba made his way frustratingly to his car. Revving the engine, he took the time to launch himself over the seat so that he could grab a towel from the backseat. He squeezed the water out of his brown locks. Stepping on the pedal, the car swerved out of the parking lot and sped down the water-filled streets to head for the Kaiba mansion.

* * *

_Drip. Drip_. Droplets of water hit Joey's face, causing him to wake up from a terrible, terrible nightmare. He wanted to sort out his thoughts, but first, he wanted to find out where the water came from. _Drip. _He turned and, go figure, Joey had left the window open before he had gone to bed. He shut it and dropped back onto his bed. He sighed.

Recently, he had been having the weirdest dreams. One person constantly invaded his mind—Kaiba. If he wasn't throwing insults, he was throwing glares at Joey. Kaiba taunted poor Joey both during the day and at night. Joey's most recent nightmare involved that scary doggy costume and a shock collar. He decided to go downstairs and make himself a nice cup of hot cocoa.

Moments later, Joey grabbed a coat and an umbrella while heading out the door. He forced his thoughts to concentrate on a nice, hot cup of hot cocoa while his footsteps splattered in the large puddles. It was past midnight so he had to find a twenty-four hour place. He feet led him in front of a fast food restaurant—the one with a glowing yellow "M"—yes, Joey's feet led him to the nearest McDonald's in Domino City. Joey opened the door, his wet feet sloshing on the black mats. _Squoosh_.

Joey clambered over to the front and ordered the hot cocoa that he desired, taking it with him as he plopped himself down in one of the swiveling chairs. He forgot all his troubles as he sipped the sent-from-heaven cocoa. He let out a long sigh, feeling his body relax into the comfortable surroundings of McDonald's. He continued to sip happily, that is, until he realized someone was staring at him. And Joey couldn't help but stare back. Joey thought, _"Why in the world is the CEO of Kaiba Corp sitting next to me at McDonald's?"_

Seto, after having his third cup of coffee, was wide awake, but wondered if the person he saw next to him was an illusion. Perhaps Mokuba was right, and Seto did need more rest for he was seeing Wheeler, wearing a coat over his pajamas, sitting next to him at McDonald's at one-thirty in the morning nonetheless! His hands unconsciously reached up to rub his eyes in disbelief. He regained whatever composure he lost in thought and managed to question Joey with a glare, "Wheeler?"

Seto Kaiba had been driving home from his office when his stomach growled quite loudly. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed already so his eyes went on a lookout for an open fast-food restaurant. He swerved the car, for he almost missed the turn into the parking lot. Kaiba, the owner of the ultimate company, had stopped at the cheap place of McDonald's. Unfortunately, the drive-thru was flooded so he had to get out of his shiny, black car and into the rain just so he could order a breakfast sandwich (it was the morning, wasn't it?) and a coffee.

The warmth of the coffee surged through his body, relaxing those muscles that had been tired and overworked. He closed his eyes in bliss from the wonders that coffee could do. Munching thoughtfully on his McGriddle, he pondered whether or not he should have fired that poor bloke. While going through the pros and cons of that particular person, he finished his cup of coffee. Since he liked coffee and had nothing better to do, he decided to order more. He also ordered a hash brown to go with his rich, dark coffee. A few moments later, Seto went up and bought a third cup of delicious coffee. He just couldn't resist.

While drinking in the scent and taste, he noticed someone familiar walk in. He could only stare since Joey Wheeler was at McDonald's. Wearing pajamas. Ordering a hot chocolate. Seto could only think of it as unusual.

The puppy was oblivious of Seto's presence. Joey even sat down right next to Seto and still didn't notice. Well, he did eventually. It was just one of those things where you stare at a person long enough, they'll turn around, and Joey did. So now, Seto had to actually speak to Wheeler. Great.

"What are you looking at, mutt?" Seto said, calm as ever.

"WHAT! Watch who you're calling mutt you over-stuffy Mister-I'm-too-good-for-everyone-else!" Joey retorted.

Seto glared, "At least I don't grovel at anyone's feet."

"Why you! You're a good-for-nothing bastard that doesn't even know what a Rubik's cube is!" Joey shouted with a smirk.

Joey just had to bring up that incident...Mokuba had found the new fad at school just really fun. He decided to ask his older brother to buy him a Rubik's cube. The only problem of buying one was that Seto had never heard of a Rubik's cube. He wasn't about to admit it though...A week later, Mokuba asked Seto again, this time at school. Seto just had to say, "Mokuba, what in the world is a Rubik's cube?" as Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea were walking by. Joey had to comment of course. No need to say that the Kaiba Corp CEO sorely beat up Joey.

And since Wheeler was making fun of Kaiba again, the result was probably going to turn out the same.

"Wheeler," Seto said through gritted teeth, "You are so DEAD!" And with that, he knocked Joey off of his stool. Joey scrambled off the ground and threw a punch. Seto had dodged it and Joey ended up hitting the counter and knocking over Seto's coffee. Seto moved quickly and had Joey in a headlock, but Joey kicked Seto's shin. The fight was turning nasty and very soon, the McDonald's staff rushed over to break them apart.

So, on this fateful day at three in the morning, Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler had been thrown out of the nearby McDonald's. Well, the only thing that ever came out of Joey and Seto speaking to each other always ended up in an argument...or a fight. And this time was no different.

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Just so you know, reviews are worshipped! Hope you like my first ever YGO fic. 


	2. Aisle 5

AN: I'd like to thank everyone for the great reviews. Reviews really help me work on writing instead of procrastinating (like I do with everything else!). I will remember all of you forever and ever and ever and ever and so on! Anyways, I imagine you all don't wish to hear me rant, so just read the chapter already!

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Chapter Two – Aisle 5

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Seto and Joey had been kicked out of McDonald's. The rain poured down in a steady pattern, coming down as heavily as before, and splattered inched away from Seto's nose and Joey's hair. They both had left their umbrellas inside, so now they were without their umbrellas and stuck in the rain at three in the morning. How convenient.

Seto threw a glare at Joey and ran through the rain to his car. The beep of the car unlocking pulled Joey's mind out of the lulling sound of the rain. He really did not want to walk home in the rain and the only other person around was Kaiba. He did the most logical thing his mind could come up with—run to Kaiba's car.

"Yo, gimme a ride!" he shouted, but to no avail. Seto was pretending that Joey never existed and downright ignored him. The engine revved and purred. The blond was desperate to avoid being left there and promptly walked over to the passenger side, wrenching the door open, and got into the seat.

"What the hell are you doing in my car, Wheeler?" Kaiba said with a deadly tone.

"What? You can't gimme a ride home? It's not that far, Kaiba." Joey whined.

Seto glared once again, but then smirked. "Fine! Don't forget your seatbelt, though." Seto responded. The wheels in his mind were spinning, and the wheels on the car would soon be. He stepped on the pedal, and probably traumatized Joey for life.

* * *

Joey swore never to ride in a crazed Kaiba's car ever again. He barely managed to get his seatbelt on before Kaiba swerved the car out of the parking lot and onto the rainy streets. From the looks of it, Kaiba didn't care about any driving rules, even if the streets were slippery. Luckily, Joey still had some strength left to walk to his front door after a few minutes on the roller coaster ride of hell. 

Joey dug through his robe for the house keys and wearily turned the lock. He stumbled into the house, found the nearest trashcan, and promptly threw up.

* * *

Seto had made his way home, but was still sitting in the car. He wondered what the hell made him crazy enough to drive at one hundred miles per hour just to freak Wheeler out. After much contemplating, he decided to blame it on the three cups of coffee he had during the early morning. He didn't feel like getting out of his car and into his bed so he pushed the seat back and watch the rain fall on the sunroof's window. It had gotten much lighter now, and Kaiba fell asleep to the gentle pitter-patter of the morning's rain. 

Seto awoke from the slightly pleasant sleep in his car to Mokuba's frustrated voice.

"SETO! Get up! It's already ten! How come you didn't come home last night? And how come you slept in the car? And now you caught a cold! Were you out in the rain all night?" ...And so on and so on. Mokuba was throwing questions left and right, definitely worried about his brother.

Seto, however, found that Mokuba's incessant questions were giving him a headache.

Mokuba continued, "I already called the office and told them you're staying home today." That set Seto's mind on track. It was ten o'clock and he needed to get to work. Seto's mind thought of what would happen to the office if he didn't go to work for a day...it could be terrible! Mokuba used the opportunity to usher Seto out of the car and into the mansion. The servants rushed forward to take care of Seto and his cold.

His butler told him firmly, "You're not going to work today no matter what! We don't want the cold to turn nasty."

"I don't need to be taken care of!" Seto retorted, "I'm still—!"

"No. If your cold gets worse, it'll keep you out of the office even longer. So think about that, go take a hot bath, and change into a pair of fresh clothes. Go on!" the butler said all the while urging Seto upstairs.

Seto had no choice but to listen to everyone so he headed up the winding staircase to his room.

He slipped into a hot tub of water and relaxed. Seto was tired from lack of sleep, so he fell asleep while in the warm, enticing bath. If the windows weren't three stories up, the fangirls probably would have taken a picture of him like that. Luckily for Seto, he had nothing to worry about so his mind wandered off in the direction of warm fuzzies.

* * *

Serenity woke up to find her brother, Joey, incredibly pale and halfway off the couch. Obviously, he had gotten out of bed at some point and ended up there. Serenity realized that he would probably fall off the couch eventually from staying in that position so she went over to pull him back up onto couch, only to find that he felt a bit warmer than normal. "Joey, you need to take better care of yourself," she sighed. 

Joey woke up all sniffly with his head pounding. Damn that obnoxious jerk named Kaiba for putting him through human hell. Joey scrunched his forehead in annoyance to find that there was something there. Blowing the post-it off of his head, he read it. Seems like Serenity went to school already and—WAIT! He was supposed to go to school today, and stay after school for detention. '_Oh well, I'll guess they'll just have to reschedule it._' Joey mused. Joey didn't mind missing school, and it was even better that he had a valid excuse of being sick. It's not like he planned to stay at home all day anyways.

After grabbing a bite to eat, Joey wandered off to find something to do. All of his friends were supposed to be in school so he felt quite bored. He found his way toward the Kame Game Shop, which was owned by none other than Yugi's grandpa. The bell tinkled when Joey swung the door open. He came for a look at some cool cards and to have a nice chat with the old man.

* * *

"Master Kaiba!" the loyal Kaiba butler called. He ventured up the winding staircase and knocked on Seto's door. "Master Kaiba? Lunch is ready, sir." The clock had already struck noon. He opened the door and found that Seto was not working at his desk. There was lots of steam drifting out of the bathroom so he curiously made his way over. He called again, "Master Kaiba--!" His eyes crinkled at the corners, laughing at the sight. 

He found Seto asleep in the tub amongst bubbles floating merrily. He shook Seto's shoulder gently while chuckling, "Master Kaiba, perhaps it'd be better if you woke up to have your lunch." Seto merely mumbled incomprehensibly.

After being Seto's trusting servant for many years, he knew that he would not get thrown out of the Kaiba mansion for splashing some water on Seto's face. He scooped some bubbly water into his palm and spilled it over Seto's face. Seto sputtered in irritation, slowly awakening from his deep slumber. Deciding that there was only one alternative to truly awake his master, the butler reached forward. SQUEEEAK!

"AHHHHH! What's that terrible noise?" Seto shouted in surprise, water splashing.

"That would be Master Mokuba's rubber duck, Master Seto," the butler replied calmly.

Seto was not a happy camper. "I'll be down in a moment," he replied wearily.

* * *

The skies cleared up lots and the temperature rose from when Joey had left the house. Gramps showed him some new cards and he even played a round against the old man. Joey observed the card in his hand and smiled. The Claw of Hermos was his, and he treasured it much. When the sun hit at the perfect angle, it reflected shining light. Unfortunately, Joey saw the light and went dizzy. _'Seems like I'm still sick,' _he thought. He trudged on home just in time to find Tristan hitting on Serenity...AGAIN! 

"YO! Stop hitting on my sister, Tristan!" Joey shouted.

"Hey! Where were you all day?" Tristan shouted back.

"Joey! You should have stayed at home. It's not going to help you get better if you go outside in the cold!" Serenity added as she ushered him inside the house. She turned to Tristan, "I'll tell you how Joey is later!" and shut the door soundly behind her. Behind her, Joey sneezed.

She prodded her finger at Joey's chest. "Look at you! Your cold has already gotten worse! We're going to the doctor right now!" Serenity scolded.

"But--!"

"No buts! We are going now." Serenity said while giving Joey a look that said to obey or no dinner.

Joey gulped. His little sister could be very scary at times. She was especially concerned about everyone's health. Joey understood that she was afraid to lose someone, but sometimes she overdid it. He could only put his hands up in a placating gesture to surrender.

Serenity smiled, threw a coat over to Joey, and skipped out the door, turning back of course to make sure Joey was following.

* * *

"There is no way I'm drinking that stuff! Those medicines are simply designed to make you sick, not to cure!" Joey argued. 

Serenity rolled her eyes only to spot a certain person coming down the aisle. "Mokuba? Doing food shopping?" she asked.

"Nah, we came to buy some business magazines and find a cold medicine that Seto will actually take," Mokuba replied. "Are you also getting some medicine?"

"Yup, Joey got sick from staying out in the rain last night."

At that moment, Kaiba strolled down the aisle, spotted Wheeler, and quickly turned to run down another aisle. Mokuba, however, grabbed Seto's arm and pulled him toward the cold medicine.

"Come on, Seto. The faster you choose one, the earlier we can leave."

"You too, Joey. Choose one already!" Serenity chimed in, also grabbing Joey's arm.

They both seemed to glare at the friendly shelf of medicine, and their eyes wandered over each label. As if their thoughts were one, Seto and Joey reached out at the exact same moment for the exact same medicine, which happened to be the only one left of that exact kind.

"Hands off, mutt!" Kaiba said while yanking the box over.

"IT'S MINE!" Joey shouted, continuing the game of tug-of-war.

Mokuba and Serenity stood off to the side with amused faces, all the while trying to stop from laughing at the spectacle Seto and Joey were causing. Other people were cautiously peeping their heads next to the shelves to see what was happening down Aisle 5. Imagine their surprise to see Kaiba Corp CEO wrestling a high school kid for a box of cold medicine.

Eventually, a lady who worked there made her way down the aisle and solved their problem. She restocked the cold medicine and continued on her way as if she didn't notice anything happening. Joey and Seto, who had been fighting over the small box, both let go of it in favor of grabbing a new box that had not been squished up, which caused quite a few of the nearby, unwanted cold medicine to tumbled off the neat shelves.

Mokuba and Serenity decided that it would be a good time to leave the store, pulling the individual brother toward the counter. The lady came back with another box to restock the shelves with and only then noticed the mess caused by the two boys. Deciding that she was too tired to clean it up, she picked up the nearby phone.

"Clean up in Aisle 5. Clean up in Aisle 5."


	3. Merry go Round

AN: Sorry for not updating sooner! It's hard for me to find time to sit down and write with all these stupid computer restrictions my dad has been making. Evil. Anyways, I had to think of a way to twist the plot in. Yes, the plot is not really moving, but this time, I'm pushing it forward a bit. Will Seto and Joey ever get together? Find out next time on Digi—I mean, Senseless Serendipity!

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Chapter Three – Merry-go-Round

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Serenity could tell that her brother wasn't very happy. Her eyes fell upon a flyer in the mail that said, "Carnival tonight downtown from 5-12 pm!" Serenity decided to call up Yugi, Tea, Tristan, and Duke. She hoped that a night at the carnival would help Joey feel better.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mokuba noticed Seto was quite irritated due to the fact that he had to take cold medicine. In fact, whenever he caught a whiff of the strong stuff heading his way, Seto tried to avoid taking the medicine by hiding in his office or the bathroom.

Eventually, when he thought there were no people trying to shove medicine down his throat, Seto would come out of his hiding spot, only to be ambushed by a team of his servants. Mokuba made sure that Seto took his medicine so that he could get well soon, which was his duty as a younger brother. And speaking of duties, who cared about chores and work? Certainly not Mokuba when he spotted the conveniently placed advertisement. Mokuba was walking home when the brightly colored ad had caught his eye. He immediately backtracked and stared at the Ferris wheel, fireworks, and junk food. Eyes wide, he rushed home to tell Seto about the wondrous opportunity for brotherly bonding.

This opportunity irritated Seto. He didn't like socializing much, but it was his brother asking him to go. He used to have a strong bond with his younger brother, but now they their relationship was like a kid dragging around a teddy with stuffing slipping out. They no longer spent time just having fun together. Seto decided to give in and go to the carnival, only because his conscience wouldn't stop bugging him if he didn't.

* * *

Serenity smiled as Joey spotted Yugi. They chatted animatedly for a while, Joey having missed school and missed seeing his good friends. Before she knew it, Joey was laughing happily while playing the carnival games with Yugi, Tea, Tristan, and Duke.

"Hey Joey, I'm going to take Tea around for a bit. You don't mind do you?" Yugi whispered.

"Sure! Go ahead, don't worry about me. Enjoy your date!" Joey said while nudging Yugi.

Yugi kept himself from blushing and said he wanted to show Tea something, grabbing her hand and smiling in that childish manner. She giggled and let herself be taken elsewhere by the innocent Yugi.

* * *

Joey was left with Serenity, after Duke and Tristan wandered off. At a nearby stand, they ordered cheese fries and funnel cake to fulfill the needs of their hungry stomachs. They found a table, sat down, and ate happily. Serenity looked around for someplace fun to go and she found it.

"Joey, let's go there next!" she exclaimed while indicating where.

Joey followed her line of vision to the small tent in the distance. He was about to object, but Serenity led him there without waiting for his response.

"We're so lucky there's no line! Usually you'd have to wait a really long time for fortune-telling," said Serenity, sensing Joey's reluctance. "Please can we go in? I mean, how bad can it be?"

* * *

Joey was shocked beyond belief at what he saw inside the tent. For one, the fortuneteller herself shocked him. It was Ishizu, Malik's older sister who owned the millennium necklace; she was also known as the stunning girl all the way from Egypt. Joey was really shocked due to the vast amount of fortune-telling items displayed within the small tent. Joey had never seen such a variety of freaky, fortune-telling items. The objects surrounded him, and he was definitely freaked-out. Serenity, after recognizing Ishizu right off the bat, seemed very happy to have found Ishizu. They immediately broke into a friendly chat with smiles and giggles. Joey heard Serenity mentioning his name and listened attentively.

"...Can you predict when Joey will finally find a girlfriend?" Serenity asked with a giggle. His eyes popped out in horror that his sister just asked a fortune-teller that kind of a question. He sincerely wished to simply melt into the ground.

* * *

The tents all around were decorated nicely and had tons of ads posted, but Mokuba wasn't interested in those. Well, maybe the one with swords and ninja accessories, but otherwise he continued scanning the area while Seto walked along to nowhere in particular. They passed a roller coaster for kids, games that ripped people off, and even the fondue stand. Finally, Mokuba found what he was looking for, but Seto's wasn't paying attention at all.

"Seto, I want to go on that one!" Mokuba said while pointing.

"Which one?" Seto asked, eyes searching for whichever ride Mokuba was pointing at.

Mokuba pointed excitedly in the general direction while displaying his affectionate yet effective puppy eyes. "Over there! Please, please, please can we go?"

"Mokuba...where!"

"Right over there!"

Seto sighed in exasperation at his brother's antics. Mokuba could be really blunt when he got all hyped up, especially when something really caught his eye. He usually got too excited and tended to be very unspecific.

"Over there! There! There! THERE!" Mokuba exclaimed while dragging Seto along.

Seto simply allowed himself to be dragged by Mokuba to...the merry-go-round!

* * *

Phew. Joey finally was able to leave the fortune-telling tent, but not without being scared out of his mind. Ishizu predicted an interesting future for Serenity, and then she predicted Joey's future. He remembered every word she said... 

_"You have an unusual relationship with Kaiba. Your dreams will point you on the right path to stabilize the relationship. Do no hesitate in speaking your feelings; it will bring you closer to what you're looking for. Your friends will support you in your journey. Listen to their advice when in need."_

Joey didn't like that Ishizu talked about Kaiba. Joey didn't like that she talked about dreams too, and considering Kaiba haunted his dreams...He shivered with fright.

Serenity noticed Joey's shiver and smiled warmly, "Come on! Let's move around so we don't get cold. Let's try one of the new rides."

Joey brightened up at his sister's sweet voice. He followed her as she led him toward the brightly lit rides. The music resonated through the air, children's playful laughter could be heard, and the stars above twinkled.

* * *

"Wow. This line is really long," Joey said.

"Yea, but they can seat lots of people on the merry-go-round so it's ok." Serenity replied cheerfully.

"Which one should we ride on? The carriage or the horses?" Joey asked his younger sister.

"The horses, of course! The carriages are no fun since they don't move!"

The music slowed, as did the merry-go-round. The former riders got off their steeds and exited through the gates, and the buzzer sounded. Children, adults, and teens went through the gate and claimed their spots upon the Merry-go-Round. Mokuba brought Seto to the large black horses, which they mounted with grace. Serenity and Joey rushed to find a pair of horses close to each other as children quickly claimed whichever ones they could get up upon. There weren't many left and Serenity spotted a pair, quickly bringing Joey over. They mounted quickly, and the Merry-go-Round started up.

"Hey Serenity!" Mokuba shouted over the music.

Serenity turned and spotted Mokuba, along with Seto. She waved and laughed noticing Seto's tiresome look. "How did you manage to get Seto on?" she yelled back.

Mokuba shouted back, "I talked him into it!"

Joey stared in dismay at seeing Seto at the carnival on a merry-go-round while clutching the pole to keep from falling off his horse. Seto was definitely annoyed that the mutt was right in front of him with his jaw hanging open in astonishment. He knew that he shouldn't have listened to Mokuba.

Joey's mind wandered to what Ishizu said, and it bothered him. Joey thought, "_An unusual relationship? He thought about all the possible relationships between people in general...friends and enemies...and lovers! Holy crap. Surely Ishizu didn't mean that! But then, dreams...Kaiba, puppy, collar...WHOA! That is just wrong."_ Joey felt his head go dizzy, his eyelids closing in frustration.

The music started to sound out of tune as it slowed, the ride coming to an end. Kaiba blinked, confused at Joey's strange expression. He looked like he was in deep thought...something the dog was not suited for.

"Do not get off until the ride has come to a complete stop," the bored man announced.

Everyone didn't listen anyways. The children scrambled off to find the next most interesting thing, while the adults chased after them hopelessly. Mokuba and Serenity got off in a less hurried fashion, but still moved ahead without waiting for Seto or Joey. After Kaiba and Wheeler squished through the gates, Serenity and Mokuba had already disappeared.

Seto and Joey were lost as to what to do, so they started out by blaming each other.

"If you moved didn't fall off the horse, we wouldn't have lost them!"

"If you walked faster, we wouldn't have lost them!"

"Mutt!"

"Arrogant bastard!"

Mothers ushered their children away from the terrible pair of teenagers. The arguing turned into name-calling, which lasted for a few minutes, and they forgot to actually go and look for their siblings.

* * *

After a long day at the carnival, the Kaiba brothers and the Wheeler siblings headed home to rest their aching bodies. Mokuba and Serenity had a wonderful time without worrying about their brothers, for once, and tried out everything at the carnival three times. The youngsters were officially worn out, so they searched for their brothers, and to their surprise, Seto and Joey was right where Mokuba and Serenity had left them. The two were almost identical to a pair of little kids in kindergarten, glaring at each other, and occasionally sticking out a tongue at each other. Mokuba and Serenity could not contain their laughter as it bubbled out in melodious melody, their brothers still glaring. Luckily, Mokuba and Serenity had no trouble bringing their brothers home, for Seto and Joey were dying to get away from each other.

Joey, although he had a hard time with Seto, wholeheartedly thanked his sister for taking him with her to the carnival. Serenity observed the silly grin upon Joey's face and pulled the covers he had kicked off over him again. He had, of course, forgotten about Ishizu and her mysterious prediction.

The tired Seto decided upon a nice, warm bath when he returned to the mansion to get rid of the stress within his tense muscles. Retreating to his large bedroom, he plopped himself on the king-sized bed with only one intention—sleep. Mokuba caught a glimpse of his older brother as he slipped to the bathroom for his rubber ducky. It was most refreshing to see his dear brother resting peacefully with a smile plastered upon his usually serious face.


	4. Dragon Dreams

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but then again I'm usually pretty slow at updating...I'm not easily motivated to do any type of work at all—unless it's watching anime or reading manga, of course. This chapter is almost like a filler, but it helps later on...I think. Anyways, Happy Holidays!

* * *

Chapter Four – Dragon Dreams

* * *

_Glancing at his surroundings, Joey looked the large figure in utmost amazement. The moonlight reflected off the still water in the lake and also reflected off the smooth scales of the immense dragon. The dragon's head turned so that his red eyes looked right at Joey's brown eyes. Joey did not feel in the slightest way frightened by the creature, for it was his Red Eyes Black Dragon looking at him in the most sincere of ways. Reaching forward, his hand touched the cool scales, but in a flash, its wings had spread and the dragon took flight, leaving Joey's hand suspended in the air. Joey was suddenly afraid that his Red Eyes would disappear, so he ran after it._

_Circling a clearing, Red Eyes came to a halt, landing gently on the ground. When Joey caught up to his dragon, his eyes widened as a pale blue figure next to Red Eyes came into view. Of course, Joey kept thinking that it was only a dream and he had nothing to be afraid of. He made each step firm, the thud of his footsteps resounding, echoing in his ears. He kept his eyes focused on the ground, watching his steps and the grass ahead of him until he saw the metallic claws of his Red Eyes. Within seconds of meeting Red Eyes' gaze, he was launched into the air onto the back of his dragon, soaring into the sky. He let out a "YAHOO!" as they rose high into the air. A gust of wind surged by as the Blue Eyes White Dragon flew past them, challenging them to a race. A smile formed on his face as he urged his dragon faster. Clouds brushed past, the wind whistled, and he felt something in his heart give way, like something clicked and unlocked.

* * *

_

The sunlight fell across his face as Joey woke to the sweet scent of buttermilk pancakes sizzling in the pan. Ever since Serenity moved in, the house always had cheerfulness and a warm, inviting atmosphere. In a cheery mood from the refreshing dream, he went downstairs for a hearty breakfast.

* * *

Joey could not stand having Kaiba around, but Mokuba seemed quite harmless, although his speeches about how good of a brother Seto was became annoying. When on a sugar high, Mokuba was extremely fun to be around. He was no longer a stuffy Kaiba, just a regular hyperactive kid. Today was one of Mokuba's sugar high days and he skipped around in excitement for Yugi invited Mokuba to go with Joey and the others to go bowling. Mokuba had a knack for bowling so Seto didn't like playing it with him since Seto always lost to Mokuba. It had been ages since Mokuba had to chance to knock down some pins so he was overjoyed and chatted excitedly with everyone on the way there.

Seto observed his brother walking with Yugi and the gang into the bowling alley. When Mokuba had called, Seto got worried about his younger brother.

"_Hey Seto, I'm not going home after school."_

"_Why is that?"_

"_I'm going bowling with some friends. I promise I'll be home for dinner. PLEASE LET ME GO!" Mokuba whined, knowing his brother's weakness._

"_Alright, alright! Call me when you're done and I'll pick you up."_

"_Okay! Thanks big brother!"_

Sucking in his breath, Seto quickly ducked behind the hedges. He didn't want Mokuba to think that Seto didn't trust him—he trusted Mokuba with his life, well maybe not his life, but something close to that—it was just that Seto wanted to make sure his little brother wouldn't get into any trouble. Being a Kaiba had its perks, but there was always the small fraction of haters among the crowd. It was only then that Seto noticed who was walking with Mokuba. Wheeler. Seeing him triggered his memory to replay a sequence from his dream last night.

* * *

_The sky was dark satin, the wind cool against his skin, the grass swayed to a rhythm. His Blue Eyes White Dragons stood like pillars surrounding him—tall, proud, strong. Just when he felt like closing his eyes for a nice nap, he was suddenly swept up onto one of the Blue Eyes and they landed on a hill away from the other two. He could see Joey and his Red Eyes, but quickly hid himself. It seemed like Wheeler didn't see him, but all thoughts vanished when he felt his dragon rising. The Red Eyes already surged high into the air and his Blue Eyes followed quickly. He could see the silly grin on Wheeler's face and his hair whipping all around. Wheeler let out a whoop and caused Seto to grin and shout his elation as well.

* * *

_

He ducked even further down behind the hedges, now paranoid of Wheeler seeing him.

* * *

Joey glanced backwards for a moment having felt a chill run down his spine, but shrugged it off as they went into the bowling alley. He figured it must've been a cool breeze or something.

* * *

Seto was close to a cold sweat now and he could quite place why. _Why is it that having Wheeler see him would be awkward? Why am I feeling so...flustered...jumpy...troubled...just by his presence?_

Amongst all the warped reasons that crossed his mind, the most senseless thought of them all just stood out...

_I like him._


	5. Pegasus' Party

AN: Oh, a party! This'll be so much fun:D

* * *

Chapter Five – Pegasus' Party

* * *

Kaiba frowned at the image dancing on his screen; it was the infamous Funny Bunny, which was not a good sign. He rolled his eyes as the animation played, the pink rabbit hopped around the screen, made a few incoherent noises, and then pulled out an envelope from its pocket. He felt like it was some silly children's role-playing game. The envelope opened up and Pegasus' voice read the letter aloud, 

"_Hey there Kaiba-boy.  
You're invited to a special party at my mansion.  
Don't forget to dress formally!"_

Scoffing, as the rabbit seemed to mock him by pointing and laughing and donning a silver overcoat while the wind blew his ears back, Seto marked the date on his desk calendar. Although he did not like Pegasus and his Funny Bunny, Seto made it a point to attend all formal gatherings because it would not go well if the Kaiba made up some pitiful excuse of refusal. The bunny proceeded to rattle off the time, place, and date of the party in an annoying voice before Seto shut his laptop firmly.

* * *

"Kaiba-boy! What a pleasure it is that you've come today...I thought for sure that you'd never forgive me and would avoid me for the rest of your life. If it weren't for you darling brother..." Pegasus spared a sideways glance towards the younger Kaiba as he watched the elder fume silently. 

"I only came to your party due to that little portion of respect I still hold for you as the creator of this game," Seto replied with a steel tone.

Pegasus laughed, "Surely you jest, Kaiba-boy! Is the free food and drink not appetizing enough for you?"

Seto snatched a glass of wine from the server in irritation, downing it in a gulp, declared the wine too sweet for his tastes, and walked away.

"Wasn't that Kaiba just then?" Yugi pointed out.

Joey spotted Kaiba taking quick strides away from Pegasus in his weird way of angrily stomping away, his face flushed with irritation.

Tristan exclaimed, "Hey, Joey! Let's go eat some of that good food! And look at the dessert table! Isn't it just heavenly?"

"I'll check it out, but I don't think all of that is as appetizing as the food Pegasus has regularly." Joey replied, but his eyes fell upon the three-layer cake and lit up in anticipation. "Now that's more like it. I think I'll skip the appetizers and the main course."

"Joey, that's unhealthy." Serenity said with a frown.

"I can be unhealthy for one night."

Yugi chuckled as Joey moved forward to attack his prey with ferocity that could rival a lion. Tristan followed suit, and soon enough, everyone else felt their stomachs growling and grabbed some food in a more subdued manner.

* * *

The majority of the partygoers were either teenagers or young businessmen. Some were maintaining a degree of discipline, while others were partying hard, letting everything loose and just having fun. Even Pegasus showed some joy in cajoling some of the businessmen into laughing about one of his silly remarks. The only one who appeared to not enjoy the party was his butler, Croquet. Even Seto, who had a few drinks already, showed a glowing expression upon his usually stoic face. Seto glanced around to look for his brother, and spotted him talking animatedly with Joey's sister. He chuckled silently to himself.

* * *

"GAH! Don't sneak up on me like that! It's really freaky." Joey yelled in reply to Pegasus' antics. He had spotted a not-so-friendly looking shadow lurking around and then Pegasus popped in front of Joey with a "Boo!" to which Joey responded to with a shout. 

"I figured I ought to warn you about those drinks you seem to be eyeing."

"Eh? What are you saying? I ain't eyeing no drinks!"

"Well, the one you're holding is some of my finer French-imported wines. I'll be kind enough to advise you to not overindulge or you might end up with a nasty hangover."

"French! I thought this was just some plain red wine!" Joey sputtered in amazement.

With an ominous tone, Pegasus replied, "Well, enjoy your drinks...or you better not and look after your sister."

Joey's slipped to the side and snuck a glance in the direction of his sister, seeing her dancing with a person with raven-colored hair—Mokuba. _Should I interfere? No, she seems to be having fun...But he's a Kaiba and Kaiba may be rich but definitely not a good type of person. Maybe I should give Mokuba a chance because it's not like he's like Seto. Seto's the real jerk._

A voice disturbed his thoughts. "Looks like your sister's into younger guys."

"Yeah, so?"

"...Looks like I'm into younger guys too." Seto replied with a devilish smirk.

Joey's eyes widened as Kaiba looped an arm around his waist and brought Joey close, much too close for Joey's likings.

"What are you doing! Are you drunk?" Joey said loudly, trying to draw someone else's attention, but they were in a dark, secluded corner of the ballroom.

He felt fear and confusion creeping into his mind as Seto trapped him against the wall and kissed Joey. He never in his wildest dreams thought that something as unexpected as this could happen! Seto muffled any further protests with his mouth, using the opportunity to tangle their tongues. Was the CEO of the largest, richest company around really kissing him? He felt himself responding to Seto, leaning forward to deepen the kiss. He felt the same thrill and exhilaration as when his Red Eyes was racing Seto's Blue Eyes, realizing that Seto was probably there as well. Seto pushed Joey back and muttered something similar to "Ugh, I feel sick!" Joey rolled his eyes, knowing that Seto had gotten himself quite drunk and it was now catching up to him, but seeing that there was no way that Kaiba could see straight or walk straight, Joey helped Seto to the restroom.

* * *

The rest of the night was spent thinking about what had happened and basically taking care of Seto. Joey found that there was definitely something between them, other than hatred or friendship. It was a frightening yet comforting thought that plagued him for the rest of the night. 

Time passed quite quickly and Kaiba felt much better after only two hours. Joey left him then and went to join his friends on the dance floor while secretly observing his sister and Seto was monitoring Mokuba from the sidelines as well.

At the end of the night (but really two in the morning), everyone left Pegasus' mansion stomachs stuffed, drunk, or insanely tired of from all the partying. Joey plopped down on his couch, ready to just fall asleep, but Serenity seemed all too happy.

"Sis, did you have any drinks?" he asked, suspicious.

"Of course not! It's just that I've got a date next Friday and I can't wait!" she replied sighing dreamily.

_Oh no. Don't tell me it's Mokuba.

* * *

_

_Don't tell me you asked Wheeler's sister out._

"I know you don't like Joey that much, but big brother, I really like Serenity."

_Great._

"Where should I take her? To the movies? The park? The arcade? The—"

"That's enough Mokuba. You're giving me an insanely annoying headache. You can take her wherever you want."

"Really? Can I borrow the limo?"

"No."

"Aww..."

_Mokuba and Serenity. A Kaiba and a Wheeler. What has the world come to?

* * *

_

Reviews make my day...or week.


	6. Chaperoning

AN: Finals and other crap has been keeping me busy, as well as my stupid procrastination. I really wanted to update earlier, but I'm not an update-once-a-month type of person. xx

* * *

Chapter Six – Chaperoning

* * *

Thunder cracked and lightning flashed with the ferocity of a rampaging rhinoceros.

Okay, scratch that.

Although Seto cared for his younger brother very much and wished him much happiness and a good future, he had sent up a secret prayer every day of the past week that it'd rain relentlessly today, in which the case would be that the date Mokuba had with Wheeler's sister would be rescheduled. Mokuba asked Serenity out to the newest Duel Monsters theme park (created by Seto, of course) on Friday. It was Golden Week, the week where the weather was generally beautiful, the sakura blossoms were blooming, and the kids had days off to celebrate. Damn the perfect weather and the happiness emanating from everyone around him.

Mokuba got up extra early that morning, excited for his first-ever date, ranting for hours about this and that. It was so unlike any Kaiba who was generally composed and emotionless that Seto felt completely overwhelmed by his brother's ecstatic attitude. He gave up wishing for rain and gave in to his brother's bargaining of borrowing the newly-imported European car. Weary from work in the morning, Seto resigned to enjoying the quiet of the mansion after Mokuba had left.

A melody in his mind played endlessly, pushing his entire being into a resting state. Seto was enjoying the peace so much that the trill of the phone caught him completely off guard. Mumbling his annoyance, he let it ring until his butler answered it.

"Mr. Joey Wheeler, sir."

Curse that mutt.

* * *

After a lengthy conversation justifying their reasons, getting their stories straight, and making excuses in case they were caught, Joey and Seto see off through the theme park to "chaperone" their siblings. Joey and Seto reversed their roles so that Seto was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, topped off with a baseball cap while Joey wore a dress shirt and slacks with a tie around his collar. They walked with a good ten feet of distance between them, scanning the area for Mokuba and Serenity. According to Seto's security cameras, they were last spotted at the Blue Eyes gift shop.

"Psst. I see them! They're by the water fountain." Joey, who sat on one of the benches, whispered to Seto from behind his newspaper.

Seto sat down next to him. "Looks like your sister laughs a lot," Seto said while observing his brother telling Serenity something.

"Do you feel as if we're being watched?" Serenity asked Mokuba.

"Yea..." Mokuba glanced around and spotted two guys reading one newspaper. _Hmm..._

"Let's go get something to eat! There's an ice cream stand over there."

"Okay!"

* * *

Seto let out his breath as he turned to Joey and said, "That was a close one."

"Yea, it's a good thing I thought about bringing this newspaper!" Joey said while turning to face Seto.

"What do you mean? I was the one who thought about our disguises AND gave you the newspaper!"

"Well I was the one to ask for a paper, so it was MY idea."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Suddenly, the both of them noticed how they were nose-to-nose and ceased their argument. Even though their faces were red from arguing, a red tinge tainted their cheeks. At a loss for words, Joey was compelled to turn away, but Kaiba's eyes seemed locked on his. Before his mind could tell him to stop, he leaned toward Seto and their lips met.

He had done quite a bit of thinking in the days following the party—not just about his sister and Mokuba, but about Seto. Ever since that kiss, Joey had tried to figure out their true relationship with each other. In his own bizarre thought process, he matched up the like and dissimilar qualities and found enough evidence for friendship. It was a typical love-hate relationship. At first, Joey and Seto despised each other completely, throwing insults at each other without a second thought. And now, with the unusual development between them, Joey figured that he was better off not trying to analyze their complicated relationship.

* * *

Serenity giggled and her face reddened as she observed her brother with Seto. Mokuba tried his best to muffle her giggles and pull her away from watching the two.

"Come on Serenity! Let's leave them alone now. We got them started and I'm quite sure it won't end there." Mokuba allowed himself a chuckle as Serenity's face turned into a tomato.

"Mokuba! I cannot believe you just said that!"

* * *

Joey's eyes widened as Seto threw the paper aside and pulled him off the bench and into the bushes. When they stopped to take a breath, Joey asked Seto in a hushed whisper, "What the hell happened to chaperoning?" 

"Don't tell me you're not enjoying this."

"It's not that it's just—"

"Good, then shut up and kiss me."

* * *

"So, Serenity how was your date?"

She squealed, "I had the best time! We went on all of the roller coasters and played a ton of games in the arcade and Mokuba showed me some stuff that only staff members have access to and it was just great!"

"Whoa, take a few breaths before you end up passing out on me."

"I won't, Joey. We walked so much and so far and my legs were pretty tired, but Mokuba picked me up and carried me to the car. He's such a gentleman!"

Joey flushed, and it was a good thing he had his back to Serenity as she happily pranced upstairs.

"_We should get home before they do, or else they'll definitely be suspicious."_

"_Yea."_

"_My house or your house?" Seto said huskily, nibbling Joey's ear._

"_Gah! Stop, Seto!" Joey said, trying hard not to moan._

"_As long as we'll continue later."_

_With a sigh, Joey nodded._

"_Your house then. I've never been to the Kaiba mansion yet."_

_Seto led Joey to the back entrance of the park where his car was parked. Joey, unsure if he really was ready to go any further, grabbed a hold of one of the lampposts. Seto looped an arm around his waist, pulled, and carried Joey to his convertible._

_The speed that Seto was driving at was crazy, keeping Joey's mind off of all the possible ways that going to his mansion could get him in trouble, but once they arrived, Joey nearly fainted at the sheer size of the mansion. Seto led Joey one of the lesser used living rooms that had comfortable couches and tons of fluffy pillows._

"_No tour of the house first?" Joey asked nervously as Seto encircled his arms around Joey's waist._

"_You've seen the mansion. Now let's finish some unfinished business."_

_Seto was bossy like that, and usually Joey would've snapped back to start an argument but Seto nibbled on his stupidly sensitive ear and all rational thought left Joey. He was promptly on one of the couches, trapped beneath Seto's body. Seto's searing kisses conquered his mind as Joey tangled one of his hands in Seto's dark hair while his other one snaked under Seto's shirt. The CEO soon lost the shirt among the cushions and he definitely looked ready for more, but Joey opted to lay his head on Seto's chest, just listen to his heart beat. Seto seemed entirely stunned by the action at first, but they stayed like that for a bit before realizing that Joey had to get home._

_He guessed it was due to both of their pent up frustrations that they barely broke apart for air, causing Joey to look quite flustered as Seto drove him home. Even worse, Joey left his house keys in Seto's car and had to go back. Seto pulled him close and they wasted away a good thirty minutes behind the car's tinted windows doing a few…things._

Joey quickly pushed all thoughts out of his mind for the time being, trying to focus on the magazine he was reading, but to no avail.

"Sis, I'm going out for a bit!"

* * *

Seto hid himself in his office for the rest of the day, throwing himself into his work and programming and reprogramming any of the programs he could find on his desktop.

He soon ran out of things to do (due to his quick typing skills) and he called for another cup of coffee, only to find that his cook had went out shopping. His butler offered to drive him out to the nearest coffee shop, and Seto readily accepted. He needed his coffee. Now.

Seto couldn't help but spot Joey jogging at the park and told his driver to drive faster. He arrived at the coffee shop, bought three cups of coffee, went back to the car, and directed his butler to drive him up to the ridge overlooking the city. Stepping out, he slowly devoured his coffee while watching Joey jog along the paved path in the neighborhood park. He watched for hours before his butler finally suggested that Seto go home and get some rest.


	7. A Date without Kisses

AN: Summer's gone and now I'm in my busiest year of high school. I'm trying my best to continue my fanfics, so hopefully you'll all be patient enough to wait for them.

* * *

Chapter Seven – A Date without Kisses

* * *

"We need to slow down."

"Why?" Seto asked, not pleased with Joey's statement.

Joey shifted the phone to his other shoulder while he scribbled down a homework answer. "Because…we're moving too fast? I mean, sure, we knew each other for a while, but we HATED each other. And now, it's so sudden to go from rivals to, um…"

"Lovers?"

"Um, yea." Joey was getting more nervous due to the expression on Seto's face.

"So…you want me to slow down?" He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Just a little bit. God, we haven't even been on a date and we've already made out…more than once!"

"Then what do you consider a date?"

"Erm…I don't know. Maybe a movie and dinner?"

Joey sighed. Obviously Seto wasn't too interested in anything other than simple make-out sessions he could squeeze in between his work hours. It was odd enough for Joey to be in a same sex relationship, so he didn't want it to just be…sexual. Plus, it was sort of depressing to not experience any dates while his sister kept going out with Mokuba.

"Going to the amusement park counts as a date." Kaiba stated.

Joey thought about it, "That wasn't a real date. It was more like a confession, so we should set up a real date."

"Fine, I'll check my schedule."

Joey heard the light flipping of the pages of Seto's planner.

"Next Friday at five we'll meet up at the theater."

"That's it?"

"You're impatient. I wasn't done yet."

"Fine, go on."

"We'll have dinner at the French restaurant nearby and afterwards, we can go to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream. Sound good?"

"Great. See you Friday."

"Yea."

_Click._ Seto slowly put the receiver down and marked everything down in his planner. He bit down on the tip of his pen, contemplating whether to call his client now to cancel the meeting scheduled or to just send someone in his place. He figured he'd leave it to Mokuba to go in his place.

* * *

Serenity called up Mokuba and explained what she heard from her brother talking on the phone. Mokuba explained how his brother asked him to go to the business meeting planned on that day. Both Joey and Seto were free to enjoy their first real date together. Serenity and Mokuba's plan to get the two together was working perfectly. All they needed to do was give their brothers a push in the right direction.

* * *

Seto tapped his foot impatiently as he glanced at his watch for the tenth time in the past five minutes. Joey wasn't late, but Seto was anxious. His client didn't seem all too happy about not meeting with Seto in person and Seto had actually fretted over his appearance before leaving his car. To tell the truth, Seto had never been on a date in his entire life. He was always too formal and businesslike in nature, so he was horribly afraid of being a bore or talking way too much about stuff no one really listened to. Now there wasn't much of a way to mess up when making out, so maybe that was why he just seemed to like kissing Joey…a lot.

Finally Joey showed up, glancing around nervously. They bought their tickets and snacks and headed into the dark theater. The lights dimmed and the movie started. It was a comedy, and both Seto Joey laughed out loud during the hilarious scenes and chuckled at the not-so-funny scenes. Joey was drinking his soda and had nearly spit it out during one of the scenes, hacking and coughing pretty loudly. Seto ended up laughing at him for a bit while trying to get Joey to stop choking.

They left the theater for the restaurant in high spirits. Seto had changed his mind about going to the French restaurant, so they went to McDonald's instead. Joey didn't mind at all. The employees, however, remembered the three in the morning incident and were wary of the two talking with each other quite nicely. Were they going to break out into a fight over the last fry? Or was last time just due to the time of day?

"I want another burger." Joey stated bluntly after watching Seto eating his burger at a slower pace.

"Then go get one."

"But I thought you were treating me!"

The employee winced. Was it going to start?

"I did. You can afford to buy yourself another burger right?"

Joey bit back a nasty retort by saying, "Don't you want some more erm, soda?"

"There are free refills, you know."

"Then fries maybe?"

"No."

"Nuggets?"

"No."

"A salad?"

"I'm not dieting or anything," Seto replied, throwing Joey a slight glare.

"How 'bout we share a burger?" Joey pleaded.

The employee waited for the explosion but it never came.

"Fine." Seto handed Joey the money.

Smiling, Joey brought it up to the cashier to order.

"A cheeseburger."

The employee was still standing in shock. These two guys made a huge mess the last time they were there and now they were totally cool with each other. Wow.

Joey waved his hand in front of the employee's face. "Helloooo!"

The employee put in his order and watched in amazement as the two actually split the burger and left the restaurant together.

* * *

They walked through the park, quietly enjoying the view before stopping by the ice cream shop. Seto bought the two ice cream cones and they continued walking to Joey's house. It was rather quiet and an aura of sheer content surrounded them. Soon Joey's house appeared a few blocks away, but all of a sudden Seto pulled Joey in the opposite direction.

It had been way too mesmerizing. Joey licked his ice cream in an oh-so-sensuous way that was driving Seto to the brink of madness. Seto had tried to avoid glancing in Joey's direction during the entire walk, but it only caused his mind to wander into the gutter. Of course, Seto had been trying to avoid kissing during their date because one, people would see them, and two, they could not go too far in public. But currently, in the dark of night and down a street where no one was around, Seto the first kiss of the night after smoothly discarding Joey's ice cream.

Joey was shocked by Seto's sudden movements, but the kiss made it increasingly difficult to think. He could feel the passion that Seto imbued in the kiss, but he could also feel hesitation. Seto was desperately holding back the more lustful aspects. Joey thought of how well the date had went tonight and how content they were just spending time together, and how Seto tried his best not to displease him. As Seto pulled back to break away, Joey leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Seto.

"Thanks for tonight," Joey said.

The hug was slightly awkward for Seto as he breathily replied, "No problem."

"Maybe we'll go over to your house again sometime." Joey said before stealing one short, innocent kiss as Seto processed the words that were far from innocent.

Joey bid Seto good night and left Seto smiling, contemplating what their next date would be like.


	8. In the Air

AN: Hi all! It's been YEARS! Somehow, my muse has wormed its way back into my mind and here I am-writing again. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8 – In the Air

* * *

School didn't exist anymore in Joey's opinion. He floated through each day with his head in the clouds until Yugi, Tea, and Tristan finally confronted him.

"Are you ok, dude?"

"Yea…"

Tea waved her hand in front of his face, but Joey still did not seem to be paying attention.

Yugi asked, "Has something unbelievably good happened?"

"No…"

"Really?" Tristan asked.

"Yea…"

Yugi whispered, "Are you really ok, Joey?"

"No…"

"Is yea and no all you can say?" Tea asked, frustrated.

"Yea…"

"He's gone mental!" Tristan shouted.

"No…"

The gang dragged Joey over to Yugi's house while they assessed the situation. After a question and answer session, Tea concluded, "Joey is love-struck."

Is it really that simple? Love-struck. Joey took a moment to register the words in his mind. The emotion that was overwhelming his body, mind, and spirit was something akin to the feeling of love. Joey loved Serenity as a brother. He looked out for her, worried about her, and wanted to spent time with her. He looked out for Seto, worried about him, and wanted to spend time with him as well. So was it love?

* * *

Kaiba swung his arm around to knock the alarm clock radio off the nightstand. It warbled feebly, "Love is in the air…Everywhere I look around…" before splitting into screeching radio frequencies. As Seto stepped out of bed, he crushed the remains of the radio with his fuzzy Blue Eyes White Dragon slippers.

If anyone walked into the room at that moment, Seto was sure to become the main suspect of a murder case. Mornings were not all that great if memories of the previous night were completely tucked away into oblivion. Yes, Seto Kaiba was suffering a massive hangover due his newly developed habit of filling his bathtub with wine. Some lady at the mall had told him it was a cure for insomnia because the sweet scent of wine would engulf his senses and lead him to a lengthened peaceful night of sleep. Seto was sitting in the tub of wine (after taking his usual bath), feeling wary of it as he closed his eyes. The scent was overwhelming, overwhelming to the point where he grabbed a glass and decided to drink it. It would be such a waste after all if he let the years of well-preserved wine go down the drain. So he drank until…well, he didn't remember.

_Mokuba had heard the noises from Seto's room and informed all the staff working at the office that Seto would not be in today and at home that Master Seto needing some tending to. He was appalled to find Seto in the bathroom extremely drunk and singing. Singing!_

"_I feel charming," Seto sang as he dangled off the showerhead. "Oh so charming! It's alarming how charming I feel~!"_

_Seto had snatched the sheet off of his bad and wore it like a toga. Somewhat._

"_And so pretty that I hardly believe I'm real~" Seto picked up a backscrubber and swung his arm out, thwacking their poor butler in the head as he continued to warble the lyrics._

_Mokuba was appalled.

* * *

_

"Master Seto," his butler had set a hot cup of tea on his desk.

Seto groaned. "Thank you so much." He took a sip, "Not a word or else none of the staff shall keep their jobs!"

"No worries, Master Seto." Although his butler had a crinkle of a smile on his face.

Seto buried himself into his work furiously.

...

* * *

"Please," the voice on the other line _begged_.

Joey blushed furiously the implications of that one word. "N-No. I'm busy!"

"Please, Joey." The voice said, laced with longing.

Joey mumbled and gave in.

"Serenity, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later!" he called out as he bolted down the stairs and out the door.

* * *

Joey laughed as Mokuba retold the story of Seto's wine bath. Seto was furious and red but he couldn't deny that it was truly the most ridiculous thing he had done in years.

"And then?"

"And then—"

"I think that's quite enough, Mokuba," Seto cut in smoothly. "Go do your homework."

Mokuba whined a big "Awwwww!" as he left the room.

Joey broke the silence. "So…"

"Thanks for coming." Seto sighed, clearly stressed.

Joey smiled a goofy smile. "No problem."

More silence as they just sat there on the couch. Seto leaned over and just released a big breath, relaxing into Joey. It was crazy how Seto's feelings for Joey changed so drastically. He grew up isolated in the world of business and was tough and unrelenting yet one moment changed it all. He melted like a marshmallow over a flame.

Joey was unsure of what to make of it and settled for closing his eyes and relaxing as well. A nap couldn't hurt.

...

* * *

"Master Seto, dinner is ready."

"Mm..."

"Yo, I didn't know you sleep so deeply. Come on, I'm hungry."

Joey pulled at Seto's arm until Seto seemed to be awake. "Let's go! Jeeves said there's some nice steak or something."

* * *

After a hearty meal, Seto was feeling quite refreshed. He deemed that he slept best with Joey around and seriously considered asking Joey to move in with him. Of course, that was insane and impossible. Mokuba would probably have a field day.

But now what? They were technically in a relationship. Seto was already the working man. Joey was still in school-high school! The differences between their lives was great and he couldn't quite figure out the best way to piece everything together.

"Maybe it's better that we end things." Seto said with his face against his desk. Joey had left already, and the huge mansion was empty as ever. Maybe it would be his fate to die lonely.

...

* * *

"Joey, this is unacceptable!" Serenity preached.

Joey covered his ears and pretended not to hear.

"Your grades terrible! What if you don't graduate?"

"LA LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

Serenity stepped in front of Joey and put her hands on his chest. "Joey Wheeler, I will not have a high school dropout as brother! You are getting tutoring whether you like it or not!"

* * *

"...And that is how I end up here."

Seto rolled his eyes and flipped through his schedule book. "Why don't you come over evenings at eight for dinner and then I can tutor you afterwards? Let's do two o'clock on weekends."

"Wait, why does it have to be every day?"

"Judging from your grades in pretty much every subject, you need major help. Once a week won't cut it, pal."

"Whaaat! How much are you charging me?" Joey demanded.

"You know exactly how to repay me." Seto drawled seductively and hung up. Yes, he couldn't believe he said that either.


End file.
